1. Missouri’s freshman class is about much more than Michael Porter Jr.

The potential No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft gave the Tigers’ program a chance to be immediately relevant upon Cuonzo Martin’s arrival, but the other pieces in this class give Missouri a chance to have longevity beyond Porter’s time in Columbia...

3. Kentucky’s early schedule has hidden potholes.

There’s more to this slate than just the marquee games.

John Calipari’s squad faces Kansas in the Champions Classic on Nov. 14th, UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic, and also hosts both Virginia Tech and Louisville at Rupp Arena prior to the start of SEC play. But in addition to all of those high-level tilts, there are other games on the Wildcats’ non-conference schedule to make note of...

Kentucky comes in as the highest ranked SEC team, landing at No. 5. Florida is closely behind them at No. 8 and Texas A&M is the final team in the rankings at No. 25. Alabama, Missouri and South Carolina also received votes.

This isn’t just a football conference anymore. After putting three teams in the Elite Eight last spring, the SEC is primed for a bigger piece of college basketball’s pie. Multiple coaches in this league believe the conference’s current depth is better than its been in over a decade — it’s hard to argue when you look the caliber of each roster. This looks like a seven-bid league on paper.

68. Michael Porter Jr.

The best for last? Quite possibly. The 6-10 freshman has all the requisites to be the number one pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and his commitment single-handedly made Missouri an NCAA Tournament contender for the upcoming season. Cuonzo Martin’s first season is Columbia will be appointment television because of Porter.

Key, who averaged 12.0 points per game last season, has a meniscus tear in his left knee.

“We’ll know more about his time frame, how long he’s going to be out after surgery,” Coach Avery Johnson said. “Life is not a perfect world, but I like the way our guys responded.”

Key was one of four players to sit out of Monday’s 75-64 exhibition victory against Alabama-Huntsville, as the NCAA notified Alabama earlier in the day that freshman guard Collin Sexton had not had his eligibility reinstated by the NCAA.

Johnson said that Sexton was not being directly investigated and he hoped for a quick resolution.

“The NCAA informed us late this afternoon that Collin Sexton has not had his eligibility reinstated by the NCAA,” Bryne said in a statement. “We don’t have any further information at this time, but we will continue to cooperate with the NCAA and work toward a resolution that results in Collin’s timely reinstatement.

“While we are disappointed, the right decision was to err on the side of caution for tonight’s exhibition game.”

Sexton, a 5-star prospect, was expected to start at one of the guard spots for the Crimson Tide this season.

Sexton’s eligibility issues stem from the resignation of former Alabama staff Kobie Baker.

Baker allegedly took part in a bribery scheme where he accepted money to direct a Crimson Tide basketball player to sign with an Atlanta financial adviser after entering the NBA Draft.

ESPN college basketball analysts Jay Bilas and Tom Crean remain bullish on SEC basketball despite the fact that the ongoing FBI probe into college basketball recruiting could impact two of its rising programs — Auburn and Alabama.

Arkansas: Veteran guards win in college basketball and Mike Anderson’s got three of them in seniors Anton Beard, Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon. Add five-star big man Daniel Gafford, a 6-11 freshman who should step in seamlessly for Moses Kingsley in the pivot, and there’s no reason why the Razorbacks shouldn’t find themselves once again in the mix for a NCAA Tournament. Remember, this team has several players back from a squad that pushed eventual national champion North Carolina to the brink during last March’s Round of 32.

In Tuesday night’s loss to Kansas at the Champions Classic in Chicago, the Wildcats went back-and-forth between freshmen Quade Green and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the one, with neither player separating himself from the other.

During the final 10 minutes, Calipari rotated both, even playing them together for a brief period before ultimately closing the game with Gilgeous-Alexander on the ball.

From Rose to Tyreke Evans to John Wall to Brandon Knight to Marquis Teague to Tyler Ulis to De’Aaron Fox, Calipari has always had a high-level floor general when he had teams that had a chance to play deep into the NCAA Tournament.

Is Green or Gilgeous-Alexander cut from that same cloth?

Not initially.

The duo combined for 12 points and six assists against Kansas, and for Kentucky to truly get into a rhythm as a team, it needs one of these players to truly emerge between now and the start of SEC play.

Bryce Drew’s Vanderbilt Commodores finished an up-and-down week with a gut-punch of a setback, losing 93-89 in overtime to No. 10 USC on Sunday night at Memorial Gym.

The Commodores lost 69-60 on Monday at Belmont, which also beat local rival Middle Tennessee State this week. But Vandy rebounded to get a quality win over always-solid UNC-Asheville, 79-76, on Friday at home.

Then came USC and a wild, emotional game in front of a Memorial crowd that was well short of capacity but loud. Vandy led by 14 in the first half before a 15-0 run by USC to end the half – featuring five straight USC threes and four straight Vandy turnovers.

Vandy got the lead up to 10 in the second, but the Trojans sent it to the extra session with a late three from senior guard Jordan McLaughlin (career-high 35 points). The Trojans controlled the extra session.

"It was just a great college basketball game and we were on the fortunate side," USC coach Andy Enfield said.

Like I told our team, nobody should be happy in there. ... We don’t want to be that close and let it slip away, especially at home," Drew said afterward.

Vanderbilt (2-2) next heads to Brooklyn, N.Y., to play Virginia on Thursday in the NIT Season Tip-Off. The Commodores will play Rhode Island or Seton Hall on Friday in Brooklyn.

The conference has built on a strong finish in the 2017 NCAA Tournament — five teams invited, three in the Elite Eight, South Carolina in the Final Four — with a hot start to the 2017-18 season. Consider this: Just three weeks in, the SEC already has 10 non-conference wins over teams ranked in the top 50 of Ken Pomeroy’s advanced statistical rankings (which we’ll use exclusively in this piece).

"Disaster. This is a disaster," he said, "and I'm responsible for it."

Three non-conference overtime losses at The Pavilion has brought Kennedy and Ole Miss to this point.

The latest of which came at the hands of Illinois State, 101-97, on Saturday afternoon.

It was the third overtime contest in the past four games at The Pavilion. All have resulted in Rebels losses. Ole Miss (5-5) has lost four of its past six games.

Losses to Utah at a neutral site, Virginia Tech, which played Kentucky tough Saturday, and on the road to Middle Tennessee State were understandable. An overtime loss at home to South Dakota State a little less so.

Saturday's defeat was much harder to fathom, especially the way the game unfolded. Illinois State (5-6) jumped out to an 18-point lead in the first half and led by 10 at the break.

Rebels continued their stretch where they appear disinterested for an extended period of the game.

"It's embarrassing for me, a man who has put so much blood, sweat and tears into this program to have to coach effort," Kennedy said. "It's ridiculous, but I'm coaching it every single day and it's the reason that we're sitting here at 5-5."

Ole Miss heightened its awareness in the second half and was more competitive, thanks to a 27-point, 7-rebound effort from forward Bruce Stevens.

So here’s the problem for Kentucky basketball after Saturday’s surprising loss to an average UCLA team in New Orleans: Thanks to a soft schedule — and losing an earlier opportunity against Kansas — the Wildcats are in danger of being very light on quality nonconference wins come Selection Sunday.

They have just three victories against top-100 teams in Ken Pomeroy’s advanced statistical rankings, and only one against a top-50 opponent — last week at home against No. 37 Virginia Tech. That’s a pretty underwhelming NCAA Tournament resume so far.

Four SEC teams — Texas A&M, Tennessee, Arkansas and Alabama — have more top-100 wins than Kentucky. The Aggies, Razorbacks, Florida and Georgia have more top-50 wins.

It’s going to be hard for a team starting five freshmen and struggling to defend the 3-point line to pile up wins in a much-improved league.

Kentucky’s loss to UCLA, its second of the season, sent John Calipari’s squad from No. 7 to No. 16. Four other two-loss teams are slotted higher than UK in the latest rankings.

A&M (11-1), has now broken into the top-5 for the first time this season, leaping in from No. 8 after a pair of wins over Northern Kentucky and Buffalo.

Tennessee gives the SEC only three ranked teams for the second straight week, and the Vols moved up two spots to No. 19. Tennessee (9-2) rebounded from its 78-73 loss to North Carolina with a couple victories, including an impressive 79-60 blowout at Wake Forest.

The rankings for the Aggies and Vols mark the highest for both schools this season.

Also worth noting is Arkansas (9-2), which is the first team on the outside looking into the rankings with 85 votes received. The Razorbacks hold 30 more votes than Clemson, which earned the next-most.